When Did it All Change?
by HighOnSky
Summary: It funny how, day to day, nothing ever seems to change and yet, looking back, everything is different. This was no different for the operatives of Sector V of the kids, now teens, next door. This is the story of them and how they learned that no matter what may change weather it be their age or their relationships they would forever be the Kids Next Door.
1. Prologue

When Did it All Change?

Chapter One

Change

It funny how, day to day, nothing ever seems to change and yet, looking back, everything is different. Its that way for everyone and it was no different for the operatives of sector V of the Kids, which were now the teens, Next Door. Sure there were certain things they could remember changing, such as the day when Numbah One left. The creeping thirteenth birthday of the team and how they would hold their breath, waiting to see if they would all remain a team, and then collectively let that breath out when their friends would return to them. They remembered their first day of middle school and high school and of course the day during their sophomore year when Nigel returned. There were also the occasional very memorable birthdays and missions and summer night but for all the things they could remember there were so much more that they couldn't. So many days that just passed by and as for the friends themselves they changed and no one could remember when.

First there was Nigel, who they all expected to have changed and yet it seemed he was the one to have changed the least. He looked just about the same as when he left, taller and fitter, but same bald head, sunglasses and determined smile. Even his attire remained mostly the same, though with a bit more class as he wore a red shirt with a dark blazer, khaki pants and of course those brown rocket shoes of his. He was also the one who remained the most childish, sure they all retained a bit of child like wonder and curiosity but being in space and not going through all the experiences his friends had, he still seemed to be stuck back at age ten sometimes. He had definitely matured since his return, quickly returning to his position as leader and taking charge, but there were times where he wouldn't understand a mature joke and he still found himself gasping internally whenever someone would curse. His teammates had also noticed that he was more on edge then before, always tense and would sit by himself for hours with an almost pained expression. Of course they had asked but he would either ignore the question or say it was classified. After awhile they all learned to not bother anymore, they knew that something bad must have happened to both shake him so much and send him back but he didn't want to talk about it. And they weren't sure they even wanted to know.

Since coming back and joining them at school, using special secret 2X4 technology to catch him up on school work, he started spreading his wings after being pushed by his friends to find something to do other then just be their leader. He had spent all the past years doing nothing but missions, without a soul in the world to tell him other wise or share in laughs and stories, so it was even harder then it had been before. After trying his hand at a multitude of clubs and sports, which he found he was very inapt at, he almost gave up hope until school elections came around. While he had been away for so long he was still a legend amongst those who had grown up with him and he found himself being pushed by not just his team but everyone who had known him to run for junior president. He had been nervous at first, he had failed at everything else and felt he didn't know anything but being an operative, but with a little push from Abby he applied and found that he could do just as much good as the junior president as he could the leader of sector V, especially with his new vice president at his side, one Rachel McKenzie. One of the two operatives, besides sector V, from their era in the KND to be part of the TND. The other operative being her loyal best friend numbuh 86, the ever abrasive secretary of the eleventh grade Fanny Fullbright. He finds his time split between spending the time with his team, tending to his duties as president, and most recently special 'meetings' with Rachel. They both claim nothing is going on but his friends would recognize that smile he gets when she is brought up, they remember it from such a long time ago when a girl named Lizzie (who is now quite happy with the former president of the fourth grade) would come to call.

Then there was Hoagie who more or less remained the same. He was still the cheesy joke cracking, chili dog loving and technical nerd but there were definitely things that had changed. The most noticeable at first glance would be his looks. While he still wore a light blue shirt and cargo pants, his goggle hat replaced with just his glasses, he had grown into his own body as it were now being the tallest and thinnest of the group despite his eating habits. There were other things that had changed about him that not even his teammates could remember when they did. Because while he still remained a genius with tech and tools his love for flying had diminished and just about disappeared. He could still fly air crafts and build them better then just about anyone but his love for the art of aviation just wasn't the same. Now his focus was more on weapons and engineering and of course in most recent years his pursuit of Numbah 5. As always his attempts were never subtle and more often then not he would get turned down and yet some how one day she finally said yes … just another important thing that seems so natural now and yet it didn't use to be.

Now that his time isn't spent with his head literally in the clouds Hoagie dabbles in not only building new weapons but in video game design. He spends a lot of time tapping away on his laptop, which he built himself, experimenting with different programs to make his so called dream game, a project he hasn't even told the rest of the team yet, and in the mean time makes some spare cash by creating apps and games for phones. He has also, only in his attempt to woe and impress, learned how to play the keyboard and work all sorts of musical programs on his laptop. After she finally did say yes to one of his many advances he mellowed out quite a bit as before he would at time drive the whole team crazy with his latest plans on how to win her over.

Then there was Numbah 5, Abby herself. While it had been slow, slower then perhaps the rest of the team, she had changed through out the years. For the longest time she was the same old Numbah 5 they had grown up with. Same old worn out sweatshirt, same braid, same over large hat and same cool and tom boyish attitude. Perhaps it was because she had to take on the role of the leader that she held onto that proud brave demeanor and held onto those articles of clothing that had brought her so much comfort in the past. What may lead us to believe this is, if they thought really hard, it wasn't until Nigel had returned that they started to notice the changes in Abby as slow as they did occur. At first it was her hair, her long lasting braid gone letting her long wavy locks flow down her back and just graze her waist. Then it subtly playing around with make up, a bit of lip gloss every once in awhile and a bit of mascara on special occasions til eventually she just started wearing it everyday. Granted it wasn't very much, some eyeliner mascara and lip gloss but just something so small seemed to change her look dramatically taking her from cute tomboy to beautiful young lady. Then, what seemed to be completely out of the blue, her sweat shirt was gone to be replaced with a dark blue tank top with a small decorative zipper on the front that was always down just far enough to get a few passing glances when she went down the hall that she wore with dark baggy pants and, of course, her red hat. Well not everything changed.

It was also after she was relieved of her position of leader that the team saw the return of the calm and collected Abby rather then the tense and at time almost anxious Abby they had seen, though she always tried to hide. She started to take up other activities rather then staying around searching for signs of adult ternary and numbuh 1, always numbuh 1, and found that she had a passion for singing. Specificity jazz and while most of her time is spent with the team, her closest friends, she also sings in a jazz band and her voice can often be heard through the tree house as she practices for her latest gig, which all her friends are always eager to attend, and which Hoagie works all the sound equipment and follows her to every gig much like a groupie would as he is afraid someone might come and steal her away from him after all his hard work.

And speaking of Hoagie, no one is actually quite sure why she finally agreed to go on a date with him. He had been asking her since the eighth grade and it wasn't until the end of there sophomore year that she agreed, though most believe it was just to get him off her back. No one actually knows what happened on that first date, for whenever someone asks they just smile at each other and say things went just according to plan, but ever since they have been together. They aren't the over romantic couple, at least not usually though Hoagie has been known to get jealous and rather then get angry he chooses to show his affection is grand gestures. The most notable being their first valentines day together.

They had already been together at that point, though since they weren't one of those couple who spent every moment in the halls together making out in front of the lockers, to Hoagie's disappointment, it wasn't very widely known. So when the school announced a valentine's dance the whole school suddenly seemed to go into romance fever and inevitably someone asked out numbuh five. She kindly turned them down and took Hoagies hand saying she was already with someone but it had already set him off. He didn't feel threatened but now he felt he had something to prove and boy did he prove it. The dance went smoothly and normal for the most part, they danced and drank punch and laughed together before leaving after a short time deciding that a night at the tree house with their friends would be much more fun. Except Hoagie had other ideas.

They did go back to the tree house but, with the help of his friends, he had set up a trail of rose petals leading to a balcony where, through a favor cashed in by number one from some other galactic kids next door, the night sky held a constellation of a heart with both of their names in it (though they weren't really stars but super extra brilliantly bright mega lanterns placed by Nigels friend). Of course she absolutely loved it, she may not exactly been one for public affections but she could definitely appreciate and be touched by his efforts and for one night she felt like the most special girl in all the world. A fact she had told everyone when they came to see how the dance had gone, numbuh three seeming to be mad at numbuh four reasons he just couldn't seem to understand.

And who of course could ever forget numbuh three? Kuki Sanbon, who some may say was the laughter and sunshine of the sector even when it seemed like there was no hope. For really it was her always look on the bright side spirit that pushed the team through the dark depressing months that followed the loss of their beloved leader and friend. Numbuh Five would even freely admit if it wasn't for her friend she probably wouldn't have survived being the leader and the team would have collapsed, the boys wouldn't say as much though. No they were far too proud to admit that her childish games and feigned airheadedness made them able to carry on day to day as she struggled in silence to keep everyone together, hiding her own pain at the lose of Numbuh One. It was because of this bottled up emotions that she started to change a bit, she was of course always the same in front of her most trusted friends, but in front of others she became more quiet and reserved. She didn't try and make friends with everyone anymore, always afraid that if she made new friends she may be replacing Nigel or that, like numbuh one, they would just leave in the end.

So while her friends went on to make new friends and find new clubs and activities they enjoyed she stayed to herself. Never admitting that she actually felt very lonely at times. No, she could never admit that for if she did what would happen to them? If she lost her joy would they too follow suite? She didn't know and she wasn't willing to risk it. Even after numbuh one returned, proving to her that there was still reason to hope in the world, she still found it hard to trust others. She did, however, find some comfort online. At first it started with a MMORPG that numbuh two had begged everyone in the tree house to play so he could have some back up on one of his quests and, after finding out she both enjoyed it and was rather talented at it, played more and more and ever broadened her horizons to other games, not to mention battling fake monsters was a great way to let off some steam. She didn't exactly show off her new nerdy knowledge and power, though if anyone ever bothered to ask she was quite willing to share that she made one powerful mage. The games were only the tip of the ice berg really though as it opened her mind to the wonders of the internet and of course, almost stereotypically, led her to discover cute girly lovey anime's which soon became the new focus of her attention replacing rainbow monkey's sometime during her middle school years.

Other then her, somewhat, secret nerd knowledge and boarder line weeaboo status Kuki remained mostly the same. At least based on appearances. She still rocked her favorite color green, though now it was in the form of a long sleeved shirt with flared sleeves at the end that cut off just above her naval and had a swooping neck line worn with a black pleated skirt and leggings. Not wanting her hair to get to long she kept it cut to just about the middle of her back though she usually has half pulled up into a messy bun at the back of her head and held in place with chopsticks with all sorts of trinkets and bobbles hanging down from them but, no matter what her hair style, she always has her bangs hanging around her face. She is often told by her team mates that she is very pretty and that she is just oblivious to the stares of guys around school, especially oblivious to the flirting of one Ace the Kid, but she has yet to ever believe them since she had never actually been asked out. Then again even if she had, though she would never tell anyone as much. She ranked it up to her being unattractive and her shyness but anyone else with eyes could have been able to tell her it was because a certain orange hooded boy was a deterrent for just about every single boy in the school when it came to her, either afraid of being beaten up or already assuming they were together. But Kuki being Kuki was always blind to such things, having giving up hopes long ago that she would get noticed my someone. A certain special someone in particular.

Who was this certain someone? He was none other then the orange hooded hooligan who made the boys of the school keep their distance. One Wallabee Beetles, the loud and proud numbuh four. If someone had known him from his younger years and just saw him on the streets now it would be very rare if they recognized him at first for he had changed greatly. He had grown to be the tallest member of the team, towering over even Hoagie by a head, and rather then remaining scrawny and lean like numbuh two had he still trained on a nearly daily basis developing his muscles to fit his new height. It gave him an impressive body not that many people saw it unless they caught him out for a jog on a hot day where he would just wear a tank and basketball shorts.

On a normal day he wore an orange hoodie, an item that most would be able to recognize even if they didn't realize that it was him wearing it, but it had been well worn and showed it as it had some snags and tears that came from the constant adding, removing and moving of buttons he put all over because he thought they were cool and anyone who didn't could bend over and kiss his ass, at least thats what he always said. The most noticeable form of distress on his hoodie though had to be his sleeves that had long ago started to fall apart until one day he just ripped them off after so much thread pulling and they now resembled jagged short sleeves. His jeans were never in a much better state, knees always scuffed up and ripped, edges frayed and the occasional bleach stain to go with the always present dirt and grime. All of these things occurring because, while he could drive and had access to a car his parents had gifted him, he choose to ride his skateboard everywhere and while he was good he often got over confident and would fall from some overly complicated trick.

As it seems it would be clear to see from just his appearance, something that would be even more clear if people could see the two eyebrow piercings over his left eye and small gauges in his ears which were hidden by his long hair that had remained more or less the same and a tongue piercing that of course stayed in his mouth, he had become what could only be described as a skater boy. He hadn't always been into skating though, no it was a rather recent hobby that he had been into for only about a year or so, and had only even tried it because his friends had pushed him too. They had pushed him into it because after numbuh one left, an event that really had changed their lives even if they were young, they all dealt with the grief and stress in different ways and for him it had been extreme sports.

He had always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie, always the first to volunteer for dangerous tasks feeling no fear and secretly craving that rush he would get, but with the loss of one of his best friends and saw the effect it was having on the whole team and knowing that there was just nothing he could do for them, especially numbuh three who even though she hid it well he knew was suffering just as much if not more then everyone else, he began to feel numb. He didn't know why, he tried to convince himself that he didn't care, that he just had to move on with his life and that they should do the same, but the more he tried to push it all away the more and more that void grew and the more and more he would push himself to do even crazier tasks. Even after he had broken multiple bones and just about killed himself at least twice, every single time being saved by his teammates who, after taking care of him, promptly beat the tar out of him, he still continued to find new and elaborate ways to get that rush he so desperately craved.

His friends had tried for years to get him to stop his surely self destructive behavior, pushing still exciting but safer alternatives, but to no avail. That was until one day it seemed, just out of the blue he stopped the rubberband bungee jumping and umbrella parachuting. Everyone was shocked and while they were happy couldn't help but wonder what had changed. When they eventually did ask him about it, which didn't happen till a few weeks after as everyone was afraid they would upset him and he would go back to the extremes, his face turned red and he stormed off muttering something about how he just wanted to try something new. Meanwhile Kuki had a small smile on her face and watched him go with an almost endearing look as she rested her cheek against the couch and let out a quiet sigh. Ever since there had been rumors that something had happened between the two and that she was the underlying cause of his quitting but no one ever asked.

They were right though and Wally had only stopped when Kuki was taking care of several nasty cuts that all required stitches and what she was sure was a concussion. She was silent through out the whole procedure, which scared him and put him in a state of unease as she always had something to say to him especially in these situations. So, finally not being able to take her silence anymore, he asked her what was wrong expecting her to get angry and blow up at him, possibly causing even more injuries, but instead she just paused with her back turned to him. Which scared him even more. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, him holding his breath waiting for some sort of response from her, until she slammed down the pair of scissors she had in her hand onto the metal tray and turned around to face him with tears rolling down her face and in that moment he felt a small piece of his heart break. These weren't her normal over reacting tears, the ones that seemed to pour out in waterfalls, these were slow heart felt tears that dripped down her cheeks one by one so that he was able to count every single one. And he did. He counted forty eight before she actually spoke up.

She spoke with pain in her voice, it cracking every so often as she slowly walked over to him pointing at him accusingly telling him that he was selfish and only thinking about himself. Twenty two tears. Asking him what she was suppose to do if ever got seriously hurt and she wasn't there to patch him up or worse if something went wrong and he ended up dead. Thirty three tears. Then she did something completely unexpected, she threw herself down on the bed with him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders, sobbing into his neck and begging him to stop in a weak and pleading voice. That night, after she had finally stopped crying with some coaxing and awkward back rubbing on his part, he promised to give up the extreme sports. That had been one of those moments neither of them had forgotten and yet while it remained special, if not spoken, to them to everyone else it was just one more thing that had changed and yet no one really remembered when.

And everyone is probably wondering why any of this may even matter. Well it matters because this is the story of them. Its a story of pain and comfort, friendship and heartache. But mostly this is he story of how five childhood hero's and improbable friends managed to make it through the terrible years that have become to be known as high school and how they learned that no matter how old they may get, how much pain they may endure and no matter how much things may change they would forever be the Kids Next Door.


	2. A day in the life of Nigel Uno, Part One

When Did it All Change?

Chapter Two

A Day in the Life of Nigel Uno

Part One

Lights. Millions upon millions of endless lights scattered across a sky of shifting shades of black. The kind of black that, at a glance, seems like nothing more then one solid color. But the closer you looked the better you could see that it was hundreds of different variant shades constantly shifting and swirling around each other, bending to the light of the specs that we call stars. It was truly a master piece and yet, when it was all one had to look at, it became something disgustingly familiar. It was the sort of familiar emptiness that could drive a man crazy and, in some cases, it did. And it was this scene that Nigel Uno dreamed of.

He was back on the space station. Standing in the cold steel room where the only thing to look at was either the slate gray walls and floor or the void beyond the small circular window. At first, though he was sad to leave his life behind, Nigel had been excited. What did didn't dream of becoming an astronauts, to explore the unknown beyond the home that they knew, to float around weightless and perform tricks they couldn't even dream of pulling off on your standard issue trampoline. Not only had he been given this chance to fulfill a childhood dream but he was going to be helping kids, kids from all over the galaxy! Kids that no one even knew existed from threats that not even the craziest of sci fi movies could have prepared him for.

At first he had been exited by everything he had seen. Each mile the station drifted into the solar system brought a new and wonderful sight to him, each star was different and brighter then the last and though he misses the tiny dot of a blue planet he called home he was doing greater good. That's what he told himself for the longest time at least, even after there grew an aching in his heart and he dreamed of nothing more then returning to that little blue dot that seemed so insignificant compared to everything he had seen in his extra terrestrial travels.

Its what everyone else kept telling him as well. They would tell him that there were other planets just like Earth out there waiting for him to save those kids and that, really, there were much better places to live then Earth anyway. But it didn't matter to him how many Earth like planets there were because they would never BE Earth. They wouldn't have the same oceans that he had once hated so much, they didn't have the same forests and creeks he spent his summers exploring, they didn't have the same trees that held the spectacular tree houses of the kids next door and, most importantly, they didn't have his team and his family. While most other species couldn't understand his sense of loyalty and longing, growing up in very different conditions, it was his friends and family that would always set Earth apart.

But he would no longer have to worry about that growing feeling of loneliness because he had finally gotten the news he had secretly hoped to get for years. It was time for him to go home. Its where they were heading to now and if he squinted really hard he could just start to make out a small dot of blue among the darkness. That dot made him smile, he was almost home. But then there were a beeping, a loud mind shattering beeping. Lights were flashing and people yelling and there was a shaking and the floors were cracking apart underneath him and it just couldn't be happening because he was so close to home!

And then he sits up straight, a cold sweat running down his back and his lungs desperately gasping for air. It was a dream, just a dream. He was home. It still took a few minutes for Nigel to fully grasp that concept though, patting the sheets around him, hands going to his ear and searching for the universal translator he had to wear out in space and then the other patting at his waist seeing if the gravity enabler was secure around him. When neither of things are there he smiles and listens, if he stays very quiet he can just hear the sounds of the rest of his friends waking up to start the day and his smile gets bigger. He is home.

He smiled to the point that his cheeks almost hurt, hes been home for almost a year now but waking up to the sound of his friends preparing for the day rather then the sound of a cold robotic voice telling him it was time to start the day was a feeling he was sure he would never grow tired of. With a smile still plastered on his face he quickly jumped out of bed, tossing the covers carelessly behind him and jogging over to his closet, eager to start the day, and the smile only leaving his face when he almost tripped half way across his room. He kept forgetting that gravity was normal here and with his now longer limbs he found it almost awkward to maneuver around. His first week back he had been nothing but a stumbling mess as he tried to get use to his new proportions. He guessed he just never realized how much he had grown while he was away.

Nigel made sure to slow his pace down, his motions now slow and careful as he got dressed and then went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and slip on his sunglasses. His smile returning as a glare flashed across the dark lenses and straightened out his blazer, pushing up his sleeves. He took another minute to fix his collar and tie, he had to look extra nice for the student government meeting after school that day, before grabbing his back back and rushing out of his room to join everyone at breakfast.

The elevator doors opened up with a satisfying swoosh revealing the normal morning scene in sector V. Hoagie was helping Abby practice for her performance that night, tapping out the beat to the song on the table and offering advice to how she could sing, to which she would take note on her sheet music while she took a few bites of her eggs. Kuki and Wally were bickering about one thing or another, he believed it had something to do with the fact Wally thought it was weird she was eating oatmeal as opposed to the bacon he had made and offered her, her calling him a stupid boy and that she needed to stay on a diet and them him saying she looked fine before they both grew silent. This made him smile and he caught Abby and Hoagie give a small smile as well, everyone wondered when they were just going to get together already.

He didn't realize it but he must have just been standing there staring, as he realized he did often because sometimes he just expected to wake up from a dream, because suddenly he heard his name being screamed "Earth to Numbuh One, Earth to Nigel!" Abby said waving her hands in front of his face and giving him that look like she thought he was crazy or something. He blinked and gave a nervous laugh rubbing at the back of his neck as he finally stepped out of the elevator and into the kitchen/eating area.

"Oh sorry, must have zoned out on the way up ha ha ..." he said offering a smile as he walked to the cabinet and grabbed a box of his favorite sugary cereal. Space food could copy a lot of things, everything from steak to pasta, but one thing it seemed it could never replicate was sugar cereal. Maybe it was the crunch of the cereal with milk or the rush of sugar from the marshmallows but what ever it was it could never compare to the real thing. He shook the box a bit before pouring it, eyes widening and nearly bouncing in his seat as he heard that there was just enough for one more bowl.

Nigel quickly dumped out the cereal and then, without even adding his milk, started to dig through the bowl in a fury as if he was trying to dig right through the bowl. "Wow you must be really hungry Nigel! You can have my bacon if you want." Kuki said passing over the bacon that Wally had been trying to convince her to eat for what he could only assume was all morning, earning an indignant whine out of Wally has he claimed that it was for her but then quickly turned red as everyone looked at him, a grin spreading across Hoagies face as he opened his mouth to say something only to be cut off by Wally telling him to shut up before he could even get out the first word.

"No, well yes, but uh that wasn't it." He finally responded after a few minutes, now just stabbing halfheartedly at his cereal "I just, uh, I was hoping there would be a prize." he said his own cheeks turning red as he suddenly felt very foolish. He gulped a bit and took a few bites with his eyes down cast "It was silly really, I know there won't actually be one but I guess I kind of just miss when there was." he said in a quiet voice, wrinkling his nose as his grip on the spoon tightened feeling stupid and childish even though he knew his friends wouldn't judge him. While it was a bit of a comfort they wouldn't care, it was more the fact that he thought he was acting like he was ten again. He hated it and though he knew it was acceptable, no one blamed him after being away for so long and he had adapted quite well given the circumstances, he didn't like feeling that way.

"Hey its alright, we all wish those prizes were back. Man remember when they gave away those lightsaber spoons? Those were the best! I think I still have mine some where." Hoagie said brightly, looking around as if the spoon may suddenly just start flying towards him, Abby just shaking her head and running a hand down her face.

"No the best places were the rainbow monkey friendship key chains! I had all the colors." Kuki said cheerfully offering him a bright smile as she got up and started clearing the table, they all took turn with the chores like that and it happened to be hers that day.

"Oh as if, those were so girly. It was all about saving up the box tops and sending in for the really cool stuff … I never did get that free video game though. Cheap bastards." Wally muttered crossing his arms and fidgeting in his seat before finally standing up and helping with the dishes muttering as quietly as possible "Thats too much fr you to carry on your own Kuks"

"Thats because you didn't fill the envelope out stupid. Lane is not spelled with a w and I told you that. If you ask me the best prize was the collectable figurines. I made a living selling those to nerds." Abby said with a laugh as she picked up her hat and pulled it on. "So don't feel so bad Nigel, we all miss them." she said with a kind smile as she stood up, tossing her bag over her shoulder and giving his own a squeeze. He returned the smile graciously and let out a real laugh as he stood up and handed over his now empty bowl. There was at least one thing to look forward to when he started to feel a bit down, his friends being there to cheer him up.

"You guys are right, sorry I started to get all blah back there. Now come on the faster we get to school the faster we can get the day over with and head over to your performance tonight. I'm really looking forward to hearing the new act from someplace other then outside the bathroom door." Nigel said with a grin as the group went to the flight deck, now equipped with less conspicuously designed crafts so they could keep actually take them to school, most of them able to hide the jets and look like nothing more then the average everyday car.

Abby blushed gently and looked away with a small smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear, Hoagie grinning broadly and sliding an arm around her waist and giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek "Stop being so modest, you are going to be great." he said gently to her pressing his fore head against her own, earning a giggle from Kuki and a sound of disgust from Wally.

"Oh knock it off will ya, I just had breakfast!" Wally complained, shuffling and grumbling over to his motorcycle, equipped with two totally awesome jets to allow it to go super fast as well as fly. He swung his leg over and shifted a bit in the seat shooting a glance over at Kuki, probably wondering if she would be riding with him. It use to be that she would ride with him every day but when Nigel came along, offering another mode of transport until she got her own ride, she started to ride with him more and more til it was an everyday affair, saying she hated having bugs in her teeth and the wind messing up her hair. Not to mention that Wally wasn't known for going at a safe speed.

Nigel just raised his eyebrow, leaning against his smooth black mustang and waiting for an answer as sometimes, without rhyme or reason, she would ride with him and it always seemed he was would be in a very good good mood those days. As usual though she just gave him a small wave and joined Nigel. "Ready to go? Im so excited about tonight I'm not sure how I'm even going to pay attention in class." she giggled holding a hand up to her mouth as she slid into the passenger seat, Nigel taking his own behind the wheel.

"I know, her first real performance at a real gig! Hoagie is right, I bet she is going to be great. I just hope a certain someone doesn't keep us forever at the student government meeting." he groaned pressing the big red button near the radio and then running it down his face as the engines fired up behind them and the roof opened up revealing a brilliant blue sky. Another smile came to his face, there was not a single blue in the universe that could compare to the smooth pastel of this sky.

Kuki giggled again as they took to the sky and followed the familiar path to school, Nigel not even having to think about it any more, something that was only a recent occurrence as his mind had wanted to take him back to elementary school for the longest time. He had gotten all the knowledge he had needed from the Galactic Kids Next Door instant informationizer machine to put him in the same grade level as his friends but there was just something in his mind that told him that something was just wrong. It was if his own body was trying to tell him he belonged back in the fourth grade and part of him actually wanted to be there to. Hearing the stories of all the good times, even stories of some of the bad ones, that his friends had had growing up together through the rest of elementary school and middle school. They always tried to tell him that it was better he didn't have to go through all of it but him, he wasn't so sure. There was just always a nagging feeling somewhere inside of him that he had missed out on something huge, which to an extent he knew was true.

On the other hand though he tried to stay positive. He did a lot of good in that time for a lot of different people and he was here with them now. And that was all that should matter, the present and his future with them. A future that looked just as bright as these clear blue skies.

To be continued ….


End file.
